NEW Garrett ATX Metal Detector

Hello everyone! within 24 hours (if the post office is telling the truth), I will be the proud new owner of a Garrett ATX. I am really looking forward to taking advantage of the PI technology in my highly mineralized ground and into the water while there is still summer to be had. I currently use minelab FBS machines for my park/dirt hunting, but have been limited on depth due to our ground conditions, so I'm hoping I can take a second look at some old sites around me using the ATX as well.

If anyone has any tips for a first time ATX user, I would be much appreciative. Looking forward to sharing my experiences here on the forum as well.

Second: keep the shaft CLEAN, flush with fresh water after EACH use, dry with the shaft extended. DO NOT force the shafts to the fully collapsed position, you can damage the coiled wire inside the shaft.

Next: I find the Minelab ProSwing45 a must when using the ATX out of the water, it is a heavy beast.

You will need good digging tools land or water.

Lear how to ground balance the detector on land, for salt water and if you should use tracking in your situation. This is a learning curve for your location one one setting is good for every environment.

Auto Frequency Scan will eliminate some "falseing"

Don't be afraid to drop the sensitivity to eliminate some falseing. I have to run it around 5-8 in New England Salt water beaches.

Do not swing too fast, it will tire you out and you may miss some smaller targets.

If you have any specific questions about a "problem" you seem to be having don't be afraid to give Garrett a call, they will help.

Good tips waterwalker, would you not be better off running higher pulse delay 3-6 and running a higher sens than 5-8 ? . Bench testing lost less depth with pulse up to 3-4 than with lowing sens to make machine stable but with that said every beach is different

Only down side in higher delay is the possibility of missing a smaller chain. Every combination has its plus and minus affects on a detector's response.
Next chance have, I will give it a try on a chain. I usually use a nickle for my "test" settings, it has worked for years on different detectors in my areas.

Wednesday: Spent 1.5 hours at a local soccer field that is pretty quiet (not trashy) and that I have been over several times the past year with various machines and various coils. I found a dozen clad coins... mostly dimes (that I am positive I missed with my vlf machines) and including 2 nickels (which made me happy because they very easily could have been gold). I also dug up a MONSTER piece of iron (think crowbar size) and a bobby pin (I feel like a real PI detectorist now that I dug a bobby pin) . I was getting a feel for the tones, and noticed that the low conductors (pop tops, nickels, other bits and pieces) rang with a LHL tone, and higher conductors (coins, including pennies) were ringing with HLH tone. Me settings after performing the freq scan and ground balance were sens at 8 / disc at 2-3.. using the stock coil. I was very happy with my hunt... especially getting an understanding about how to differentiate between a low conductor and a high conductor.

Thursday: Spent 2 hours at a local lake/swimming hole that has been busy all summer. Performed my freq scan and GB on the shore, then took my detector in the lake to get wet. I could definitely tell that nearer the shore was trashier than further into the lake and ranged from knee deep to chest deep. I believe I kept the sens at about 8, but lowered my disc to 1-2. I was able to get good solid hits on targets, but my water extraction skills definitely need a lot of work. I have a sunspot scoop and not only is it heavy (along with the ATX) but I just haven't had a lot of practice with it. I'm not sure if it was the blind pinpointing issue (the water is murky past knee depth) or me inexperience with the scoop and keeping my balance in the water, but I spent most of my hunt time digging several scoops for a target. About 30 minutes into my hunt, the batteries died. I received a 3 tone startup when I got in the lake, and from there, it crashed fast (rechargables). Luckily, I had some spare batteries in the car and was able to recharge and continue my hunt. It was a more frustrating outing, but I don't blame the ATX. To add insult to injury, as I was in the water, I noticed another detectorist swinging over the grass in the park. We spoke when we were packing up at dusk, and he found a 14K white gold wedding band about 20 feet from my car. I was happy for him . Would have been happier if I would have found it .

Today: I took a long lunch and tried the ATX at a trashy park. Same startup routine, set sens at 10 and disc at 1-2. I definitely noticed the more chatty nature of the tones as it tried to separate all the trash in the ground (which is dry due to the long warm dry summer we have experienced), and I also noticed that I was getting high conductive tones with little or no iron grunt on rusty iron (as evidenced by the pocketful I left the park with. I have hit this park HARD and have found 20 Wheaties and several silvers in this one corner (along with a fair amount of trash that I have already removed from the park) over the past year, and I'm sure others have hit is equally as hard. But I thought this would be a good test to see how the ATX reacts to ground that is tough for many reasons (mineralized, dry, trashy... tailor made for an fbs machine ). I didn't mind digging the trash (only found a couple pennies other than the rusty iron and standard trash), but what perplexed me was the tones. It seemed the break point for the HLH and LHL had moved a little so pennies were ringing more in the low conductive range, and as I mentioned rusty nails were as well.

So... realizing that I am still a newbie with only about 4.5-5 hours under my belt.. in my description above.. what am I doing right/what am I doing wrong?? I have a feeling my sens is set too high for trashy areas (or target dense areas would be another way to say it)... and would that further separate the break point between the tones? How does the disc impact that? is there that much difference between 1 to 1/2 to 2/3... and what happens with higher disc (I will be testing it out as well, but if others have experience I am all ears).

Also, this is a used machine, and the top lock is stuck... conveniently I'm short enough that I can get the shaft length I need using the bottom two extensions, but any suggestions to free the lock would be appreciated. I believe the issue is due to sand in the lock, and from what I hear, that is a common issue.

Overall... I am really excited about the new style of hunting the ATX offers, and I can't wait to get out and hunt more with it.

quote=tiftaaft]
Hello everyone! within 24 hours (if the post office is telling the truth), I will be the proud new owner of a Garrett ATX. I am really looking forward to taking advantage of the PI technology in my highly mineralized ground and into the water while there is still summer to be had. I currently use minelab FBS machines for my park/dirt hunting, but have been limited on depth due to our ground conditions, so I'm hoping I can take a second look at some old sites around me using the ATX as well.

If anyone has any tips for a first time ATX user, I would be much appreciative. Looking forward to sharing my experiences here on the forum as well.

I would suggest that while water hunting, try to recover the targets without using the pinpoint feature. Just swing the coil back and forth to determine the location. I use a different coil, the infinium 10 x 14, but the stock coil should work the same. On a good solid hit, place your scoop a little further back and make your first scoop stroke shallower and longer. Often you will get your target in one scoop if it was a recent drop. After that, you may have to dig deep. I have a sunspot 920ix with a carbon handle. The massive size really does help.

Thanks BH... I have to admit, thinking about my scoop technique, I tend to take a deep bite with the first scoop, which probably moves the target if I am not dead on, and then determins my next scoop's position based on the hole I made... i will try the shallow bite method next time I am out. Great advice!

Interesting points on the ATX, one of the problems I have found with the shafts is they need regular cleaning out, sand and silt with water hunting will cause them to stick. I know that Garrett make a service tool for undoing the cam locks but it costs $30. I have made my own by adapting a adjustable pin spanner, used for removing the bottom crank bearings on a push bike, the one I bought off e-bay is made by Park Tool SPA-6 and uses removable M5 socket head screws, All you need to do is replace these with a pair with the ends turned down on a lathe to 2.10mm and that is it, very simple.